1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a data processing system that performs data processing by a plurality of data processing means, for example, a multi-processor system and a data processing method.
2. Description of the Related Art
With advance in highly sophisticated information-oriented society, there is a growing tendency for amounts of data processing, which is performed by data processing apparatuses such as a computer and the like, to increase. Moreover, the contents of data processing have become complicated and highly advanced. Conventionally, the performance of processors such as CPU (Central Processing Unit) and the like are highly increased or a plurality of processors is converted into a multi-processor so as to improve the processing ability of the entire data processing apparatus.
However, in recent years, the speed at which the ability of data processing required is increased has reached the point that exceeds the speed at which the performance of processors is highly improved. The improvement in high performance of processors cannot be attained for a short time since much time is required for the development.
On the other hand, for example, the data processing ability of multi-processor is determined, depending on the number of processors to be used and the processing method; and dependence on the high performance of individual processors is low. For this reason, this is one of useful means to improve the processing ability of data processing apparatus.
The data processing method using the multi-processor can be explained as follows if it is divided based on the range of data necessary when one processor performs data processing.
(1) The processor that performs data processing uses only data processed by the adjacent connected processor.
Such control is suitable for a cell automaton, image filter, calculation of cloth-wave like movement, calculation of polygon generation from a curved surface and the like.
(2) The processor that performs data processing uses data processed by all processors.
Such control is suitable for an associative storage, optimization of four-color problem, traveling salesman problem and so on, radiosity, clustering, multiplexing link simulation, learning, etc.
(3) The processor that performs data processing uses only data processed by some of a plurality of processors.
Such control is suitable for self-assembly calculation, group algorithm based on judgment using sense of vision, many-to-many collision determination, database search, calculation for generating/deforming continuous curved surface, born animation, inverse kinematics, etc.
In the above case (1), data processing can be efficiently implemented by the conventional parallel processors. However, in the above cases (2) and (3), processing speed of the entire system is limited by communication speed between the parallel processors, so that processing speed of each processor cannot be satisfactorily exerted. For example, crossbar connection between all processors is established to make it possible to perform high-speed data processing of cases (2) and (3). In this case, however, an amount of necessary hardware becomes enormous, and this is not realistic.